A Double Payload Complex between Hypericin and All- Retinoic Acid in the β-Lactoglobulin Protein.

Combined therapies are usually used to treat since this approach can tackle various foci simultaneously. Using a combination of spectroscopic, computational, and microbiological techniques and methods, herein we report on the use of β-lactoglobulin as a double payload carrier of hypericin (an antimicrobial photodynamic agent) and all- retinoic acid (an anti-inflammatory drug) for in vitro photodynamic inactivation. The addition of all- retinoic acid to hypericin-β-lactoglobulin complex renders a photochemically safe vehicle due to the photophysical quenching of hypericin, which recovers its photodynamic activity when in contact with bacteria.